What Happened To Us
by Dramione Forever
Summary: Sam had said goodbye to his brother for the final time determined to allow Dean a chance at a normal happy life that they had both craved but when Sam meets a old friend from Stanford,circumstances force Sam to reconnect with his brother. OC included. AU.
1. Chapter 1

**What Happened To Us?.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own supernatural or any of the characters they belong to Eric Kripke and The CW.**

**Author note: This fanfiction is set post swan song and at the start of season 6. ****This story is AU.**

**Chapter 1 **

Sam stood outside and watched his brother talking with his new family. Dean was smiling and talking to both Lisa and Ben. Ben was looking over at Dean with a look of admiration on his face. Sam smiled. He remembered giving his brother the same look countless times when they were younger. Sam still admired Dean now. He was his big brother, a tower of strength and Sam's hero. He was his inspiration, Dean was everything that he should have been but wasn't. He wanted to be a better man and he prayed that one day he would be.

His brother looked happy and he was glad. He was relieved and pleased to see that Dean had kept his promise. Now Sam was going to make him a promise as well. He would leave Dean to live a normal happy life with Lisa and Ben in peace. Dean would have the happily ever after that he and Sam had both longed for and craved but had never had. He would never have a happy ending now and he didn't deserve one after everything he had done. Sam knew that now.

He looked down at his feet, no a guy like him didn't deserve anything. He didn't even deserve to breathe he thought silently. A few moments later he raised his head and looked back at the window, staring at the family inside once more. He watched as Lisa cleared the table and kissed his brother on the cheek as she passed him on her way to the kitchen.

Sam glanced at Dean and saw the warm smile he gave Lisa. Dean continued to gaze at Lisa for a few more moments then he turned his attention back to Ben and their conversation, No Sam decided Dean belonged here now with his new family. He no longer fitted into his brother's life anymore. Sam would not be responsible for ruining Dean's life and dragging him back into their way of life.

If he dragged him back into this life, he would not only be ruining Dean's life but also Lisa's and Ben's life as well. He just couldn't do that, he wouldn't be that selfish. Dean deserved to be happy and this was his best chance for happiness and a normal life. He would just have to go on alone.

Sam continued to stare at his brother for a few moments, committing this moment to his memory.

"Goodbye Dean," he whispered softly.

Suddenly Sam turned and began to walk away. He didn't dare look back at the house even though every step he took further and further from Dean was killing him piece by piece on the inside.

**Author note: This is my first supernatural fanfic. I have been a fan of the show for a long time. The title of this fic is inspired by the Hoobstank song What Happened To Us?. I am currently looking for a beta for this story as I feel I need a beta and tend to get them for almost every story I write. If you would be interested in betaing this story please message me.**

**I would like to say a huge thank you to Dawn N for looking over the first few chapters of this fic. I would also like to thank her for all the help and encouragement she has given me recently when I started to write this fic. If you haven't read her stories please do so as she is a amazing writer.**

**I hope you enjoyed reading this first chapter. Reviews would be greatly appreciated.**


	2. Chapter 2

**What Happened to Us?.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own supernatural or any of the characters they belong to Eric Kripke and The CW.**

**Chapter 2 **

**Six Months later**

He walked back to the motel, burdened down with grocery bags after just been given his pay check for the week. Entering the room, Sam dumped the bags on the floor by the door. Then he threw his room key onto the table, walked over to the bed and collapsed onto it His muscles ached all over, he was completely exhausted. Who knew that trying to keep a job down for a few months and hunt at the same time would be so difficult.

Now he understood completely why his dad and Dean had used fake credit card scams as a way of getting around because doing things the legal way was near to impossible. Sighing, Sam glanced at his watch he had four hours before until his shift as a bouncer at the new nightclub called flare in town began. He had done just about every job since he had walked away from Lisa's house that night just over six months ago. He had told no one that he was back and he had been keeping a low profile while hunting in case he was recognized.

Sam took any job, no matter how small. He had been everything from a waiter to a delivery van driver over the last six months but he never stayed in one place long. He moved from place to place every month picking locations solely on whether there was a case nearby. This time it was no different, three weeks ago he had been working as a shop assistant in Boston when he had picked up a newspaper on his break and read the front page.

The paper reported that ten people had vanished in the last three months in the Michigan area. His instincts told him instantly to check it out so next morning he had gathered up his belongings, quit his job and hit the road again in the old beaten up 65 Mustang he had bought off a scrapheap. It would never be the same as the Impala but it did get him from hunt to hunt.

Three weeks later he was still here and no clues, yet, as to what he was dealing with. He sighed again and looked at his watch once more. There was still three hours and forty-five minutes until he had to go to work. Suddenly his stomach growled, Sam's gaze instantly fell on the grocery bags by the door but he was too exhausted to make anything anyway. Immediately he decided to run over to the diner across the road and grab a salad.

Sam instantly got to his feet and grabbed the long forgotten room key from the table then he walked out of the room. After locking the motel door, he turned and began to walk across the parking lot when suddenly he bumped into someone, knocking them to the ground.

"I'm so sorry," Sam said apologizing immediately.

"I didn't see you," he explained as he leaned over and held out his hand to help the young woman up from the ground.

The young woman rubbed her head vigorously as she assessed the bump on her head. The stupid tall oaf should have watched where he was walking she thought bitterly.

"I'm so sorry," she heard him say almost instantly.

"I didn't see you," he continued. She rubbed her head.

"It's obvious that you didn't see me" she remarked sarcastically as she looked up and saw the man's outstretched hand.

Immediately she took it, once back on her feet Katie started to dust the dirt off her clothes.

"Just watch where you are going next time," she said bitterly as she looked up to stare at the stranger for the first time.

She stared at the man speechless for a few moments.

"Sam?" she said suddenly still looking at him.

Sam gazed at the young woman for a minute, puzzled as to how she knew him.

He looked at the woman, taking in her appearance and her slightly long wavy blonde-brownish hair then he remembered.

"Katie?" he asked surprised to see her especially here after all these years.

**Author note: This is chapter two. I hope you enjoyed it. Reviews would be greatly appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**What Happened To Us**

**Disclaimer: I do not own supernatural or any of the characters they belong to Eric Kripke and the CW.**

**Chapter Three**

Sam stared at her unable to believe his eyes. He could see that Katie was equally surprised to see him; she was staring at him like she had seen a ghost. She took a step towards him.

"Sam is it really you?" she asked softly.

He smiled at her. "Yeah Katie it's me" he said gently.

She blinked her eyes unable to comprehend the sight in front of her, she felt like pinching herself just to confirm that this was indeed real. "I thought that you were dead," she mumbled quietly.

Sam frowned at her as he did not catch the words she had just spoken. "I didn't hear you Katie, speak up," he said. The emotion that passed onto her face in that moment he could only describe as fear but what cause would Katie have to be scared of him. He frowned again in confusion.

Katie cleared her throat, trying to quickly come up with a solution to the current predicament that she had just landed herself into. Silence stretched between them. "I said that no one has heard from you for ages" she said quickly, praying that she had managed to cover her tracks successfully.

She had never been a good liar when put on the spot like this, she could feel her palms begin to sweat slightly, and if Hope was here Katie knew that she would be able to get them out of this situation as Hope had an answer for everything.

Sam rubbed his neck nervously and smiled at her softly.

"I am sorry about losing contact. I have been road tripping with my brother." he explained.

Katie nodded and smiled at him hoping he did not see through her pretence, making out that he believed the lie she had just told him.

She shuffled her feet. Sam saw that Katie was surveying him taking in every little detail which just confused him further. He didn't think that his appearance had changed that much since they had last saw each other. It was still the same old him… somewhat.

It was still hard to believe that they had not seen each other in over five years. The last time he had seen her was two weeks before Dean showed up and dragged him back into hunting, two weeks before Jess's death.

He had not thought about trying to find her after it happened he had simply wanted to get as far away from Stanford and the painful memories as fast as possible. He had not thought about anything else at the time and he felt guilty about it now.

Sam admired how much she had changed since their Stanford days; she seemed more confident and comfortable in her skin than she had back then. Still, she seemed shy to him since she was trying her hardest to avoid his gaze.

"It is great to see you Sam" she said softly.

Her next actions caught him by surprise as she walked over towards then hugged him. Sam relaxed when Katie came into his arms and he instantly hugged her back and he realized in that moment how much he had missed her.

"I've missed you Sam" she mumbled against his shirt.

"I have missed you too Katie" he replied honestly with a slight smile.

The truth of his statement hit him suddenly he had not kept contact with any of his university friends apart from Zack and Rebecca when he and Dean had worked that shifter case when Zack was falsely accused of murder.

Another pang of guilt hit him. He had not thought to contact or see anyone but when he thought about it six months ago he thought he would never see anyone again.

Katie pulled away from him breaking up their hug, smiling up at him.

"Do you fancy grabbing a beer or something to catch up" she suggested eagerly hoping he would say yes. After being on her own for a while now, she had started to feel rather lonely. Sam glanced down at his watch.

"I was actually just going to grab a bite to eat."

"Oh…okay I won't keep you then," she said sadly as she turned back towards the motel.

"You could join me if you like," he said softly.

She turned round swiftly, grinning at him. "I would love to join you Sam" she replied.

They walked into the diner a five minutes later, Katie grabbed the first empty booth that she saw in the middle of the diner, and Sam followed her letting the diner door shut firmly behind him. He slid into the booth and grabbed a menu. Katie sat down across from him, she surveyed the diner, and it looked like every other diner that she had been in for the past seven months.

Katie turned her attention back to Sam and saw he was busy studying the menu in front of him. She smiled she could not believe that they had run into each other again after all this time. Katie grabbed the last menu from the stand and began to examine it. Sam knew what he was going to order so he glanced over at Katie who was busy examining her menu. He was glad that her attention was elsewhere which gave him the chance to study her unnoticed, as he had suspected earlier there were a number of changes in his friend since they last met.

Her hair was longer with new blonde highlights spread colour suited her and brought out her brown eyes more he observed. Her face was also changed;she had more lines on her face that he was confident were not due solely to age. Sam kicked himself again for not being there for this friend, it had clearly been a troubling few years for her he had gathered.

A waitress came over to their table which pulled Sam from his thoughts. "Hi, what can I get you two?" she asked them cheerfully.

He glanced over at Katie, seeing that she was still deciding on her meal he ordered first, "A glass of water and a cob salad. Thanks" he replied smiling at the elderly waitress as she scribbled his order onto her notepad.

The waitress cleared her throat and looked over at the young woman sitting in the other side of the booth. "What about you darling?" she asked sweetly.

"A veggie burger and a soda. Thanks." Katie said not looking up from her menu.

"Coming right up" she replied. The waitress scribbled down the second order then turned and began to walk away heading towards the kitchen. Brenda wiped her brow feverishly with her husband's old handkerchief that he had given her on their first date.

It had been an extremely long and tiring day for her. Her feet were beginning to throb, she could not wait until her shift ended as she wanted nothing more than to go home and spend the evening with her husband.

Today was their fortieth anniversary and she had hoped to be home earlier but the dinner rush had caught her boss unawares and since they were understaffed he had asked if she would work a little bit of overtime for a few hours until the rush passed.

Brenda could not refuse the extra shift as she knew that Thomas and herself needed the extra money for the mortgage payment next month but she still wished that she was home right now sitting cosy by the fire. She glanced back at the two people that occupied the last booth; they looked like a nice young couple she noted happily. They reminded her vividly of herself and Thomas when they had first began dating.

She smiled as she remembered her younger days and happier times. She and Thomas had been like that once before they were married. It was only after they had gotten married that the struggle had begun she thought bitterly as she opened and slid through the double green doors which led to the diner's small poky kitchen.

**Author note: I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I had fun writing this as my muse cooperated thanks to a supernatural rewatch, I began to get inspired to write this story again and I decided to revive it. I would like to thank Kirabaros for betaing this chapter for me. Please read and review I really appreciate any reviews that I get and I love hearing your comments. Thanks.**


	4. Chapter 4

**What Happened to Us?**

**Disclaimer: I do not own supernatural or any of the characters they belong to Eric Kripke and the CW.**

**Chapter Four**

Katie slipped the menu back into the holder and turned away from Sam to gaze out of the window. She watched the people outside rushing about their lives only concerned about getting from point A to B. She envied them.

Sam watched her for a few seconds and a comfortable silence settled over them. "Veggie Burger really?" he questioned surprised at her meal choice.

Katie turned her attention back to him and smiled. "You surprised?" she asked in reply.

Sam nodded then laughed. "Of course, if I recall correctly you used to eat meat and a lot of it. You always used to order it when we went out. I remember the last time that Zack bet you ten dollars that you could not eat an entire raw steak by yourself in half an hour and you managed it in twenty minutes" he said.

She smiled at the memory. "Do you remember the look of disbelief on his face when I finished" she recalled.

Sam nodded and smiled as the memory came back to him. That was one of his more memorable times. He actually felt normal then.

"It took him five months to pay me the money through as he kept trying to weasel his way out of it. Michael threatened to beat him senseless if he did not pay up" she stated, smiling at the memory.

Suddenly she sobered and gazed at him all laughter gone from her face and any trace of merriment from her eyes.

_She looks sad_, Sam realized.

"I have changed a lot from Stanford Sam, I turned vegetarian for one thing" she stated simply.

"Good for you" he replied hoping to cheer her up a bit.

Katie smiled at him before she swiftly changed the subject. "So tell me more about this road trip with your brother."

He shrugged self-consciously and rubbed the back of his neck as he always did when he was nervous, which she did not fail to notice. It was one of his more endearing traits. She remembered him doing that when he and Jess first started dating.

The waitress came back over with her tray and set their drinks on the table. Katie immediately grabbed her soda and began to drink from the glass urgently in order to quench her thirst. Sam also took a few sips from his water.

"There is not much to tell really. I just took a road trip with Dean, It was boring mostly," Sam finally replied. "I just needed some space you know."

Katie reached over and took his hand, squeezing it gently. She understood that. She understood that very well.

"Jess's death was a shock and it hit us all pretty hard. I miss her too Sam," she said gently. Sam nodded as he felt tears come to his eyes. Even now he missed Jess. It never failed to sting his heart the manner in which she died.

"I came over to your apartment a few days after the funeral to check on you but you were already gone," she explained.

He squeezed her hand back and smiled at her slightly.

"Thank you, I appreciate it but I just had to get away as there was too many painful memories for me," he stated being honest for once about the whole situation. He took another swig of water and cleared his throat as the emotion swelled in his chest as it did whenever he thought about her even now.

"What about you?" he asked her simply to change the subject but he was also curious at what she had been up to since they had last seen each other.

She gazed up at him; meeting his eyes she took a deep breath. "I dropped out of Stanford not long after you actually, I only lasted a month longer than you Sam. It was just too painful and I missed you as well." she explained, lowering her eyes, Katie focused solely on the table in front of her, scared to meet his eyes.

Sam reached over and gripped her hand again knowing that she could do with a small sign of comfort. He could see that she was afraid of his reaction, he did feel a little disappointed that she had not completed her time at Stanford but he was hardly going to judge her considering that he had done the same thing.

"Where did you go after Stanford?"

"I actually went home for a bit to see my family then I spent some time alone with my sister travelling just like you did with your brother."

"Did you enjoy it?" He asked the question genuinely interested.

She was slightly surprised at his question. She bit her lip, trying to decide what to tell him. An odd silence hung over the table as Katie's internal battle raged inside. She could finally tell him the truth, the whole truth but she quickly disregarded the idea as she had done many times in the past.

Sam watched her closely and he started to feel guilty. He had no right to interrogate her like this after all they had not seen each other in years. He squeezed her hand again which drew her attention to him once more and smiled at her slightly.

"You don't have to answer if you really don't want to Kate. After all, I have hardly been the best friend in the world. I never attempted to keep in touch after everything that happened so you owe me nothing."

Katie was shocked to hear the bitter tone in his voice and even more shocked to hear his old nickname for her pass his lips. She wasn't sure what to make of it. It was the only nickname she had been given and he was the only one that ever got away with using it. She hated anyone shortening her name but Sam was different. Sam was simply Sam. She gazed into his eyes. She hoped that he did not blame himself for Jess's death as she knew it not his fault and she would hate to think he blamed himself.

Sam was fidgeting nervously with the salt shakers with his free hand.

She grabbed them off him and put them on her side of the table. He looked at her and their eyes connected. She smiled at him then shook her head.

"I would hate to think that you blamed yourself for Jess's death Sam," she said softly.

Katie saw the glimmer of guilt and hurt in his eyes before he turned away from her to gaze out of the window again. "It was not your fault Sam. It was a dreadful and tragic accident."

He nodded slightly but she doubted that he believed a word she had just said. She sighed then she took a deep breath deciding it was best for both of them if she changed the subject and answer the question he had asked her. "The situation with my family, it is complicated Sam," she said quietly.

He turned his attention back to her. He nodded.

"I understand Katie, believe me I do"

She smiled at him and a silence stretched between them.

In some way it was oddly comforting. To not talk seemed to allow the difficult memories to surface and give words to them.

Sam realized that she had never answered any questions about her family while at Stanford instead she had deflected them or quickly changed the subject to other things. She had been an entirely closed book to him, only showing him what she wanted him to see of her.

He had tried everything to get her to open up to him many times but she was stubborn and had refused to be drawn on the topic.

After some time in the end he had given up and left the subject alone. He had respected her decision and he had understood it. He never blamed her due to the fact he never talked about this family either. He had only told them that he never talked to his father or brother and that his mother had died when he was young. Sam had seen the walls that she had built up around herself at the time and he had related to her as he had built his own walls around his past but now he realized he might finally get some answers from her about her past.

He held his breath seeing that she was about to speak again and he hoped he would finally get the answers he sought but before she could speak, their waitress came back over to their table carrying their order. She set the two plates in front of each of them. The waitress smiled at them before she walked away heading back through the green doors which he imagined led to the diner's kitchen.

Katie instantly grabbed her burger and bit into it not caring that it was hot and burnt her tongue, she just wanted any distraction from this conversation. She looked over and saw that Sam had not touched his food. She gazed into his eyes and saw the questions reflected in them. She sighed and put down her burger then she took a sip of her soda knowing that he would not give up easily this time as he had done in the past. She knew she would have to give him some sort of answer.

She decided to tell him as much of the truth as she could as it would be easier that way.

"I know I have never told you anything about my family apart from mentioning my sister a few times and I know that you must have questions," she said looking over at him.

He stayed silent hoping that she would continue and he did not have to wait long until she did. "Well my family and I don't really see eye to eye," she explained as she started to pick at her burger.

She was uncomfortable speaking about this, he could tell and he understood how she felt.

"We are too similar in a way. My father wants me to do as I am told and to follow his orders without question and my sister smothers me. She always treats me like a child," she said, her voice taking an angry timbre."

My mother sees what is going on but she has tried to talk to my father but he won't listen and she thinks my sister is simply trying to protect me. I love my family but I can't stand them sometimes."

The tears began to trickle out of her eyes.

"I just can't be the person they expect me to be Sam. Do you understand what I am saying?"

Sam smiled at her and took her hand again.

"I understand where you are coming from Katie. Thank you for telling me." He was happy that she had finally confided in him but he felt sad about what she had been through and once more felt guilty about the fact he was not there for her when he should have been.

Katie did not respond instantly instead she went back to slowly eating what remained of her burger. Sam cleared his throat and she looked over at him. He pointed to the salt and they both started to laugh which eased the tension between them. She slid the shaker over to him which he sprinkled onto his salad.

"Since when do you put salt onto your salad" she asked him curious as she took another bite of her burger.

"A bad habit that I picked up while on the road," he replied.

She nodded in understanding knowing she had picked up quite a few bad habits of her own while on the road.

They settled into a comfortable silence with each other talking about numerous subjects from old college friends to the latest headlines in the paper. They had finished their meals long ago and had ordered coffee not ready to say goodbye to each other just yet. They sat content to talk and catch up while listening to old 50's tunes play on the jukebox and the constant chatter from the other diners in the background.

Suddenly the jukebox snagged and the whole diner went deadly quiet. Katie looked over at Sam and saw that he had sensed it too. She knew whatever this meant it was never good, she quickly slid her hand down her leg to double-check that her hunting knife was still concealed in her left boot, she was glad now that she always came prepared.

Katie saw the worry and concern in Sam's eyes and instantly felt guilty about lying to him. He thought that she was a civilian and he was clearly worried about her. Katie knew from his tense expression that he was trying to fight his hunter instincts and not show them to keep up the pretence for her. She smiled at him slightly and in that moment she pitied him and hated herself.

"I think we should move this conversation to a more intimate place and let these people get home since it is so late," he said in a calm voice meant to reassure.

She was surprised at how calm he sounded, knowing that every instinct in his body must be telling him to fight but he did this for her to see that she was safe. She nodded not wanting to prolong this agony for him. "Let's go," she said grabbing her coat. She quickly slipped her hunting knife from her boot and concealed it underneath her coat. She saw relief wash over his face at her compliance to his wish.

Katie knew his game plan as she had used it herself before; he was going to let her go out the door first to make sure she was safe then barricade the door and fight them all on his own. It was suicide but in his eyes with her being a civilian, it was the only plan of action open to him. She was not stupid. She knew that there was no way they would be allowed to leave this place, they would be lucky to make it close to the door at all.

Two hunters for the price of one was just too good an opportunity to pass up.

They got up from the booth at the same time and Sam came over to her, putting his arm around her. He gripped her arm tightly trying his best to protect her. Katie instantly felt a wave of sadness wash over her. Nothing would be the same after tonight. She could no longer hide the truth from him and she knew that he would treat her differently because of it.

She would no longer be Katie his best friend and old Stanford classmate. No she would be Katie the fellow hunter and she knew that after this his guard would go back up and he would no longer trust her as he did now. She knew that in his eyes from this moment on he would think she had betrayed him. In her heart though she hoped that he would forgive her and understand but she knew that this hope was most likely in vain.

**Author Note: This is chapter four, I hope you all enjoyed reading it. I would once more like to thank Kirabaros for betaing this chapter for me. Please read and review as I love hearing your comments. Thanks.**


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